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Since the infamous incident that injured Kawhi Leonard‘s ankle, Zaza Pachulia has been mocked and even ridiculed online by the San Antonio Spurs‘ supporters. He has continued to receive criticism for the “dirty play” he made, which many believe may have caused their opponent's chances of contending for the title. That said, it has been reported that the trolls on social media have turned into something more serious now, and has had an effect to his family.
Pachulia's family has apparently been on the receiving end of threats, according to Sam Amick of USA today Sports, and had more directed at them following Gregg Popovich‘s rant, when he claimed that he intentionally tried to injure Leonard.
“But what Pachulia can’t tolerate and what he wishes Spurs coach Gregg Popovich would have considered when he fanned the rage of so many fans by deeming the 33-year-old a dirty player and even comparing the play to “manslaughter,” are the social media threats to his family that have left them all shaken. While Pachulia was hesitant to share too many details, the situation was serious enough that security guards were deployed to the entrance of his childrens’ school in the San Francisco Bay Area as a precaution.”
The Georgian international center did not blame it entirely on Popovich, but also knows that he may have enraged some of the fans more with his words, which prompted them to issue the threats to him and his family members.
“I don’t blame everything on Pop, but what he said had a lot of influence (and) you had a lot of people where, unfortunately, you can’t control what everybody’s intelligence is. (Fans) just hear the message, and it’s, ‘Ok, Pop said so and now let’s do this.’ It’s just wrong. You’ve got to think, and realize. Threaten me, but don’t threaten my wife or say something about my kids. It’s just wrong.
“Me as a person, as a man, I don’t mind dealing with it. But I hate to see my family deal with it. My wife and my kids who have nothing to do with it, who are very innocent. … I just hate my family going through that. They don’t deserve that. … I’m not blaming everything on (Popovich), but he was a very big part of it.”
It can be argued that the Spurs indeed had a lesser chance to beat the Dubs with Leonard injured, however, it's still no laughing matter that Pachulia's three children, all eight-years-old and below, have been subjected to the threats that they do not deserve. This may serve as a wake up call not just to Popovich, but to the rest of the league as well, to be extra careful with their words moving forward, as many innocent members of a player's family can get affected.
